My Mother is a Restless Product Manager

My mother & I would often fly together in the 90s.

I still remember the first time I was asked to fill out the disembarkation cards they'd hand out during the flight.

While completing my mother's form, I didn't know what to write for 'occupation'.

"Housewife", my mother directed calmly.

I felt awkward.

Mothers of my school friends were teachers, nurses and bankers.

Housewife sounded... inferior?

A decade later, when I started living on my own, I discovered how terribly wrong I was.

I realized how incredibly complex her job is. Moreover, her role at the home had surprising parallels to my product management discipline.

Monitoring the grocery bills was like tracking a PnL.

Assigning chores was like task delegation.

Entertaining guests had all the ingredients of delighting customers.

Planning a party was like planning a sprint.

Disciplining children was like holding someone accountable.

Getting stuff fixed was like addressing bugs or technical debt.

She was managing a product with hundreds of moving parts. And she never took a day off.

Now, when I fill out my mother's form, I write her occupation with pride.

And with a sense of awe.

Because the reality is I could never even be half the product manager my mother is.